Agreement with Singapore set to give a boost to EU-Asia trade

The trade and investment agreements between the EU and Singapore have today received the approval of the European Parliament. The Parliament has also given its green light to the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement.

This marks an important step towards their entry into force, boosting the EU economic relations and cooperation with Singapore and leading to an increased presence in the fast-growing Southeast Asian region.

President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker said: “The European Parliament’s approval of the EU-Singapore trade and investment agreements marks a historical moment. This is the European Union’s first bilateral trade agreement with a Southeast Asian country, a building block towards a closer relationship between Europe and one of the most dynamic regions in the world. We are forging closer economic and political ties with friends and partners who, like us, believe in open, reciprocal and rules-based trade. This is yet another win-win trade agreement negotiated by the European Union, an agreement that will create new opportunities for European producers, workers, farmers and consumers, while at the same time promoting cooperation and multilateralism.”

Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström said: “In uncertain times, we need agreements like these more than ever. They will help Europe and Singapore to prosper, boosting our trade and strengthening an already essential relationship. The agreements will benefit workers and farmers, as well as small and big companies on both sides. They include a strong commitment to human and labour rights and to protecting the environment. This is yet another signal that open, fair and rules-based global trade is here to stay.”

Singapore is by far the EU’s largest trading partner in the Southeast Asian region, with a total bilateral trade in goods of over €53 billion and €51 billion-worth of trade in services. Over 10,000 EU companies are established in Singapore and use it as a hub to serve the whole Pacific region. Singapore is also the number one location for European investment in Asia, with investment between the two growing rapidly in recent years: combined bilateral investment stocks reached €344 billion in 2017.

Under the trade agreement, Singapore will remove all remaining tariffs on EU products and will commit to keep unchanged the current duty-free access for all other EU products. The agreement also provides new opportunities for EU services’ providers, among others in sectors such as telecommunications, environmental services, engineering, computing and maritime transport. It will also make the business environment more predictable. Singapore also agreed to remove obstacles to trade besides tariffs in key sectors, for instance by recognising the EU’s safety tests for cars and many electronic appliances or accepting labels that EU companies use for textiles.

The investment protection agreement will ensure a high level of investment protection, while safeguarding the EU’s and Singapore’s rights to regulate and pursue public policy objectives such as the protection of public health, safety and the environment. The agreement will replace 12 bilateral investment treaties existing between EU Members and Singapore putting in place a modern common investment protection framework with a well-balanced Investment Court System for resolving investment disputes.

With both agreements, the EU has made an important stride towards setting high standards and rules for its trade and investments with the fast-growing Southeast Asian region. The agreements offer huge economic opportunities, while fully safeguarding public services and parties’ right to regulate. The trade agreement also includes a comprehensive chapter on trade and sustainable development that sets the highest standards of labour, safety, environmental and consumer protection for trade and investment between the parties; as well as strengthening joint actions on sustainable development and climate change.

Partnership and Cooperation Agreement

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission, Federica Mogherini, said:“Today’s overwhelmingly positive vote in the European Parliament is good news for strengthening our relations with Singapore. In today’s world you need like-minded partners and friends. Our new agreement will allow us to build on what we have already and to do more together to achieve our common goals, both on the bilateral agenda and in tackling global challenges.”

The Partnership and Cooperation Agreement reinforces the existing relationship between the European Union and Singapore and builds on a shared commitment towards multilateralism and international rules-based order. This Agreement will provide the basis for more effective bilateral engagement between the EU and its Member States and Singapore by strengthening political dialogue and enhancing cooperation in a broad range of areas including sustainable development, democracy and fundamental freedoms, justice, security, connectivity, people-to-people links, information society, education and cultural exchanges as well as employment and social affairs. It will enable us to step up scientific and technological cooperation in fields such as energy, environment, fight against climate change, protection of natural resources, smart cities and transport. It will enhance cooperation on global challenges, where both Singapore and the EU play an increasingly important role, and will help address them in a more coherent way.

Negotiations for the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement started in 2005, and the High Representative/Vice-President Federica Mogherini and her counterpart, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Singapore, Vivian Balakrishnan, signed the agreement in the margins of the ASEM Summit on 19 October 2018. The Partnership and Cooperation Agreement will need to be ratified by all EU Member States before it enters into force.

Next steps

The EU and Singapore signed the trade and investment agreements on 19 October 2018. Following today’s vote, the trade agreement could then enter into force once Singapore concludes its own internal procedures and both sides complete the final formalities. The investment protection agreement will further need to be ratified by all EU Member States according to their own national procedures before it can enter into force.

Once in place, the agreements will be the first building block of a future region-to-region trade and investment agreement between the EU and entire ASEAN region.

The European Union continues to lead the global fight against climate change

The European Commission today adopted a Communication
reaffirming the EU’s commitment to accelerated climate ambition. Preparing for
the Climate Action Summit by the United Nations Secretary General in New York
on 23 September, the Commission recalls that the European Union has been at the
forefront of global climate action, negotiating an inclusive international
framework to respond to this challenge, while acting domestically with unity,
speed and decisiveness. The EU has put concrete actions behind its Paris
Agreement commitments, in line with the Juncker
Commission priority of establishing an Energy Union with a forward-looking
climate change policy.

Commission Vice-president for the Energy Union Maroš Šefčovič said: “With the Paris Agreement, for the
first time all parties committed to reduce emissions. Now we must make sure
these reductions are timely enough to avoid the worst of the climate crisis.
The European Union will bring to New York the fruit of our work on the Energy
Union: a realistic perspective of a climate-neutral Europe by 2050, backed by
ambitious policies set in binding legislation. The EU has ensured that all
sectors contribute to the transition. At the Climate Action Summit, we hope our
plans will inspire other countries, and we hope to be inspired. Our message is
simple: Europe delivers.”

Commissioner for Climate Action and energy, Miguel Arias Cañete said:
“The European Union
has a powerful story to tell at the UN Climate Summit later this month. We are
a global climate leader and our climate action is an outstanding example of
delivery, including in the context of our Long Term Strategy process. The EU’s
approach is to ensure that climate ambition is not only about headline targets,
but about actual delivery on our promises, about making sure that objectives will
be fulfilled and emissions reductions will happen. As shown by the EU-wide
survey published today, our approach has a very strong mandate from our
citizens. I am proud to share these messages also in New York.”

The European Union is the first major economy to put
in place a legally binding framework to deliver on its pledges under the Paris
Agreement and it is successfully transitioning towards a low emissions economy,
with a view to reach climate neutrality by 2050. Ambitious climate action
enjoys strong democratic support. According to the latest special Eurobarometer
on climate change as published today, 93% of Europeans believe that climate
change is a serious problem.

Moreover, the EU and its member states, true to their
commitment to multilateral action rooted in science, are actively preparing to
communicate by early 2020 a long-term strategy with the objective of achieving
climate neutrality by 2050, as proposed by the Commission. The Commission
presented its vision for a prosperous, modern,
competitive and climate neutral economy in November 2018 and a large majority of member states endorsed this vision in June 2019. According to the
Eurobarometer, 92% of Europeans supported making the EU climate-neutral by
2050. Under the Paris Agreement, all parties have to present a long-term
strategy by 2020.

Background

The EU continues to deliver on its commitments:

The EU has the most comprehensive and ambitious
legislative framework on climate action in place and it is successfully
transitioning towards a low emissions economy, aiming at climate neutrality by
2050 – between 1990 and 2017 its greenhouse gas emissions were reduced by 23%
while the economy grew by 58%.

The EU has already over-achieved its 2020 greenhouse
gas emissions reduction target and has completed its unique binding legislative
framework that will allow us to over-deliver on our climate targets for 2030.
At the same time, the EU Adaptation Strategy has encouraged national, regional
and local adaptation action since 2013.

Conscious that our emissions make up only around 9% of
the global total, the EU is continuing its outreach and cooperation, financial
and technical, to all partner countries. The EU remains the world’s leading
donor of development assistance and the world’s biggest climate finance donor.
Providing over 40% of the world’s public climate finance, the EU and its Member
States’ contributions have more than doubled since 2013, exceeding EUR 20
billion annually.

Strong support from citizens

Ahead of the United Nations Climate Action Summit, the
Commission carried out a special Eurobarometer on climate action and energy,
which shows that in all EU Member States, citizens overwhelmingly support
action taken to fight climate change, and want the EU and national leaders to
increase their ambitions in this regard and strengthen Europe’s energy
security.

The Eurobarometer shows that 93% of Europeans believe
that climate change is a ‘serious problem’, and 79% see it as a ‘very serious
problem’. Compared with the last Eurobarometer in 2017, climate change has
overtaken international terrorism in being perceived as the second most serious
problem facing the world today, after poverty, hunger and lack of drinking
water.

The proportion of European citizens who have taken
personal action to fight climate change has increased in all EU Member States
to an EU wide average of more than nine in ten citizens (93%). The
Eurobarometer results also show a demand for national governments to step up
their own targets for energy efficiency and renewable energy (92%), and to give
more public funding to renewable energy (84%). A strong majority of Europeans
(72%) feel that reducing energy imports will have a positive impact on the
economy and energy security, and 92% believe that EU must secure access to
energy for all EU citizens.

Related

EU leading in global agri-food trade

In a report published today, the EU
confirms for yet another year its position as largest global exporter of
agri-food products, with EU exports reaching €138 billion in 2018.

Agriculture products represent a solid share of
7% of the value of EU total goods exported in 2018, ranking fourth after
machinery, other manufactured goods and chemicals. Agriculture and the food
related industries and services together provide almost 44 million jobs in the
EU. The food production and processing chain accounts for 7.5% of employment
and 3.7% of total value added in the EU.

Phil Hogan, Commissioner for Agriculture
and Rural Development said: “The increasingly market-oriented Common
Agricultural Policy has made a decisive contribution to the EU’s success in
agricultural trade. The EU’s reputation for having safe, sustainably produced,
nutritious and quality products is a winning formula in the global marketplace.
The Commission is here to assist producers in taking full advantage of
opportunities around the globe, while always making sure that our more
sensitive sectors are provided with sufficient safeguards.”

The top five destinations for EU’s agri-food
products continues to be the United States, China, Switzerland, Japan and
Russia, accounting for 40% of EU exports. In addition to negotiating trade
agreements that provide further opportunities for EU farmers, the European
Commission helps EU exporters to enter new markets and benefit from business
possibilities through promotion activities, including high-level missions led by Commissioner Hogan. In 2018 and
2019, Commissioner Hogan accompanied by EU producers travelled to China, Japan
and the United Arab Emirates.

Wines and vermouth continue to dominate the
basket of exported products with spirits and liqueurs ranking second. Then come
infant food and various food preparations, chocolate, pasta and pastry.

Regarding imports, the report concludes that the
EU became the second biggest importer of agri-food products with €116 billion
worth of imports. This brings the EU trade balance for this sector to a
positive net of €22 billion.

The EU mainly sources three types of products:
products that are not, or only to a small extent, produced in the EU such as
tropical fruit, coffee and fresh or dried fruits (representing 23.4% of imports
in 2018); products that are destined for animal feed (including oilcakes and
soybeans – together 10.8% of imports); and products used as ingredients in
further processing (such as palm oil).

Imports from the U.S. were the fastest growing
in 2018, with an increase of 10%, which makes this country the EU’s top
supplier of agri-food products.

The full report also includes an overview of the
trade performance of the EU’s key partners (United States, China, Brazil,
Japan, Russia) and their trade flows with the EU, as well as a chapter on trade
and cooperation with Least Developed Countries (LDCs).

Related

Final call to all EU citizens and businesses to prepare for the UK’s withdrawal on 31/10

With 8 weeks to go until the United Kingdom’s
withdrawal from the European Union on 31 October 2019, the Commission has today
– in its 6th Brexit
preparedness Communication – reiterated its call on all
stakeholders in the EU27 to prepare for a ‘no-deal’ scenario. In light of the
continued uncertainty in the United Kingdom regarding the ratification of the
Withdrawal Agreement – as agreed with the UK government in November 2018 – and
the overall domestic political situation, a ‘no-deal’ scenario on 1 November
2019, remains a possible, although undesirable, outcome.

It is in this spirit that the European
Commission has today published a detailed checklist to help those businesses that trade with the UK to make final
preparations. In order to minimise disruption to trade, all parties involved in
supply chains with the UK – regardless of where they are based – should be
aware of their responsibilities and the necessary formalities in cross-border
trade. This builds on previous Communications and 100 stakeholder notices,
which cover a broad range of sectors.

In addition to this, the Commission has proposed
to the European Parliament and the Council to make targeted technical
adjustments to the duration of the EU’s ‘no-deal’ contingency measures in the
area of transport. The Commission has also proposed to mirror, for the year
2020, the existing 2019 contingency arrangements for the fisheries sector and
for the UK’s potential participation in the EU budget for 2020. These measures
are necessary given the decision to extend the Article 50 period to 31 October
2019.

Finally, the Commission has proposed that the
European Solidarity Fund and the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund are
available to support businesses, workers and Member States most affected by a
‘no-deal’ scenario. These proposals need to be agreed by the European
Parliament and the Council.

The Commission recalls that it is the
responsibility of all stakeholders to prepare for all scenarios. Given that a
‘no-deal’ scenario remains a possible outcome, the Commission strongly
encourages all stakeholders to use the extra time provided by the extension of
the Article 50 period to ensure that they have taken all necessary measures to
prepare for the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.

Technical adjustment of specific contingency
measures to take account of the UK’s withdrawal date of 31 October 2019

On 11 April 2019, the European Council (Article
50) extended the Article 50 period to 31 October 2019. This was done at the
request of, and in agreement with, the United Kingdom.

In light of this extension, the Commission has
screened all the EU’s preparedness and contingency measures to ensure that they
are still fit for purpose. The Commission has concluded that these measures
continue to meet their objectives and therefore there was no need to amend any
of them on substance. However, the Commission has today proposed to make some
technical adjustments to specific contingency measures in order to take account
of the new Article 50 timeline.

These adjustments are in three main areas:

1. Transport

A Regulation ensuring basic road freight and road passenger
connectivity (Regulation (EU) 2019/501): The Commission has today
proposed to extend this Regulation until 31 July 2020, reflecting the
logic and the duration of the original Regulation.

Basic air connectivity (Regulation (EU) 2019/502): the Commission
has today proposed to extend this Regulation until 24 October 2020,
reflecting the logic and duration of the original Regulation.

2. Fishing
activities

Regulation on fishing authorisations: the Commission has today proposed to extend the approach in the adopted contingency Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2019/498) with a similar measure for 2020, providing a framework for EU and UK fishermen to maintain access to each other’s waters for 2020.

3. The EU
Budget

The Commission has today proposed to extend the approach of the contingency Budget Regulation for 2019 (Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2019/1197) with a similar measure for 2020. This means that the UK and UK beneficiaries would remain eligible to participate in programmes under the EU budget and to receive financing until the end of 2020 if the UK accepts and fulfils the conditions already set out in the 2019 contingency regulation, pays its budget contributions for 2020 and allows the required audits and controls to take place.

Providing EU financial support to those most
affected by a ‘no-deal’ Brexit

The Commission announced in its fourth Brexit
Preparedness Communication of 10 April 2019 that technical and financial
assistance from the EU can be made available in certain areas to support those
most affect by a ‘no-deal’ scenario.

In addition to existing programmes and
instruments, the Commission has today:

Proposed to extend the scope of the European Solidarity Fund to cover the serious financial burden that may be inflicted on Member States by a ‘no-deal’ scenario, subject to certain conditions.

Proposed to ensure that the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund is available to support workers and self-employed persons who are made redundant as a result of a ‘no-deal’ scenario, subject to certain conditions.

In the agriculture sector, the full spectrum of
existing instruments for market support and direct financial support to farmers
will be made available to mitigate the worst impact on agri-food markets. For
more immediate support, for example for smaller companies with large exposure
to the United Kingdom, the EU’s State aid rules offer flexible
solutions for national support measures.

Ireland

The Commission and Ireland continue working
together, in the context of the unique situation on the island of Ireland and
their twin objectives of protecting the integrity of the internal market while
avoiding a hard border, to identify arrangements both for contingency solutions
for the immediate aftermath of a withdrawal without an agreement and for a more
stable solution for the period thereafter. The backstop provided for by the
Withdrawal Agreement is the only solution identified that safeguards the Good
Friday Agreement, ensures compliance with international law obligations and
preserves the integrity of the internal market.

Preparing for a ‘no-deal’ scenario

In a ‘no-deal’ scenario, the UK will become a
third country without any transitional arrangements. All EU primary and
secondary law will cease to apply to the UK from that moment onwards. There
will be no transition period, as provided for in the Withdrawal Agreement. This
will obviously cause significant disruption for citizens and businesses and
would have a serious negative economic impact, which would be proportionally
much greater in the United Kingdom than in the EU27 Member States.

Since December 2017, the European Commission has
been preparing for a ‘no-deal’ scenario. To date, the Commission has tabled 19
legislative proposals, all of which have now been adopted by the European
Parliament and Council. The Commission has also adopted 63 non-legislative acts
and published 100 preparedness notices. The Commission does not plan any new
measures ahead of the new withdrawal date.

As outlined by President
Juncker in the European Parliament on 3 April 2019,
should a ‘no-deal’ scenario occur, the UK would be expected to address three
main separation issues as a precondition before the EU would consider
embarking on discussions about the future relationship. These are: (1)
protecting and upholding the rights of citizens who have used their right to
free movement before Brexit, (2) honouring the financial obligations the UK has
made as a Member State and (3) preserving the letter and spirit of the Good
Friday Agreement and peace on the island of Ireland, as well as the integrity
of the internal market.

Every single business that trades with the UK,
both in goods and services, will be affected by a ‘no-deal’ scenario. The
Commission has today published a “Brexit preparedness checklist”, which
all relevant businesses should examine carefully. Businesses should now be
ready to fulfil all the required formalities.

Today’s Communication provides an overview of
preparedness work in those areas where continued and particular vigilance is
needed. They include citizens’ rights, border formalities and trade, medicinal
products, medical devices and chemical substances, financial services and
fisheries.

For more information: what should I do in a ‘no-deal’
scenario?

For the period immediately after a withdrawal
without an agreement, the Commission has set up a call centre for Member State
administrations, giving them rapid access to the expertise of the Commission
services by establishing a direct channel of communication, also for the
purposes of facilitating the necessary coordination between national
authorities. To know more about how to prepare for a ‘no-deal’
scenario, EU citizens can contact Europe Direct for any questions. Call Freephone 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 from
anywhere in the EU, in any official EU language.